Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)

ELLENSBURG (Apr. 24) -- Senior Ashley Fix (Puyallup) drove in a career-high five runs in game one, and junior Lauren Hadenfeld (Vancouver/Evergreen HS) earned a pitching victory and a save as the Central Washington University softball team completed a five-game series sweep of visiting Northwest Nazarene with 9-1 and 6-5 victories on Saturday at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field.

The wins improved Central's record to 29-13 overall and 24-8 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play and, in combination with two losses by Western Oregon, assures the Wildcats of a first-place positioning in the conference standings heading into next weekend's series at Montana State Billings. Northwest Nazarene is now 9-34 overall and 8-28 in the GNAC.

Fix drove in four runs in her first two at-bats of the opening game, plating two with a first-inning double and two more with a second-inning single. She later drove in the game's final run on a single through the infield that ended the game on the eight-run mercy rule in the fifth inning.

Meanwhile, Hadenfeld (17-4) cruised through the Crusader lineup. She threw a two-hitter with six strikeouts, allowing just a solo home run to Sarah Varady in the fourth and a single by Nicole Grummons in the fifth.

Central's offense finished with 14 hits in the opener, again fueled by the top five hitters in its lineup, which combined for 11 of those hits. Senior Danielle Monson (Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck HS) extended her hitting streak to a NCAA Division II record 40 games by going 3 for 4 in the contest, while junior Samantha Petrich (Chehalis/W.F. West HS) and Fix also had three-hit outings. Juniors Keilani Cruz (Tacoma/Curtis HS) and Taylor Trautmann (Renton/John F. Kennedy HS) added two hits each. In addition to their nine runs, the Wildcats also left 11 runners on base in the five-inning contest.

In game two, each team scored three runs in the second inning, and Petrich's two-run double in the fifth inning gave Central the eventual winning runs as the Wildcats escaped with a one-run victory.

Northwest Nazarene scored first, piecing together six singles in the second inning to score three runs. CWU wasted no time in tying the game, however, collecting three straight doubles and then a RBI single by senior Christyne Alley (Battle Ground/Prairie HS) to tie the game after two innings.

Sophomore Lindy Baxter (Lacey/River Ridge HS) entered in relief to start the third inning and was credited with the victory after the Wildcats had taken a 6-4 lead in the fourth inning. Baxter (7-9) did surrender four hits and two runs (one earned) before giving way to Hadenfeld, who threw three scoreless innings and gave up just one hit to earn her second save of the season.

Offensively, Central was outhit by an 11-9 count in the finale and overcame five errors defensively. However, six of the Wildcats' nine hits were doubles including two by Fix as she finished her Senior Day 5 for 7 in the doubleheader. Monson was held hitless for just the second time this season, ending her hitting streak in the process.

Northwest Nazarene had four players who each went 2 for 4, while Becky Louber was the lone Crusader with more than one RBI in the game, driving in two runs.

Central Washington will now play the remainder of its 2010 schedule on the road. The Wildcats, ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II West Region this past week, will head to Montana State Billings for a four-game series with the Yellowjackets next weekend. CWU will then close out the campaign at Western Oregon on May 7-8.